What are your pants called? Marcel, Gaston, Tom or Aldo? And your dress? Is her name Marla, Natacha, Claudia or Clémentine? You may have noticed it on the shelves of your favorite store or during a visit to your favorite online store: first names have appeared on the labels.
At Promod, you can treat yourself to a pair of skinny jeans called “Gaspard”. At Figaret, an oversized shirt is called “Cassie” and at Sézane, one of the key pieces of leather goods is called “Claude”. But where do all these first names come from? And what do brands gain from conscientiously naming their collections? A little extra soul and increased proximity to customers that make all the difference.
“Added value to the product”
The origins of this trend lie in the manufacturing secrets of a garment. “When the collection is created by a creative director and product managers, often, it is not a number that serves as a reference but a first name,” explains Corinne Denis, creative director in the consultancy office. LeherpeurParis. Generally, this “secret” identity then disappeared when the clothing was put on sale. But, in recent years, it has established itself as a new practice in sales and marketing. “What is new is that it becomes a sort of added value to the product, an element of enhancement,” she adds.
At Make My Lemonade, clothing and accessories have had first names since its creation in 2015. For the inclusive Parisian brand, which offers limited edition collections, it is also a way of showing one’s attachment to the product. “We spend so much time making each item of clothing that we didn’t know what else to call them. We couldn’t see ourselves giving them a figure, says Simoné Eusebio, communications director. “Sometimes we have fun with the sound of the first name, with the shape of a bag… We imagine a little character and the way he could be called. We try to create a personality for them. There can be debates too, like “No, that name doesn’t suit him!” », he laughs.
“It’s a bit of a rite of passage every time”
In addition to sticking to the “personality” of a dress or pants, the first name must also reflect the image of the brand. Particularly trendy in recent years for newborns, old names like Louise, Suzanne, Marius and Oscar, to name a few, are also particularly popular in our wardrobes. “At Sézane, for example, we are in the choice of all these first names which are coming back into fashion and that also tells a story of the brand,” underlines Emmanuelle Hyson, stylist at LeherpeurParis. At Rouje, which advocates a “feminine and sensual look”, the dresses are notably named Sheila, Laly, Alma and Elona.
On the Make My Lemonade side, we give the first names of the brand’s employees. “It’s a bit of a rite of passage. We draw from the new people who have arrived,” specifies the communications director.
We thus find a “Raoul” trench coat, “Mathilde” earrings, a “Madison” dress, an “Elijah” skirt and even a “Nour” belt. A reflection of the composition of the team with which the clientele also identifies. “We have never had a negative comment from a customer. They were always happy to see that a piece was called after them. In the last collection, a dress was called Latifa and a 45-year-old customer wrote to us to tell us that it was the first time in her life that she had seen her first name on a site,” says Simoné Eusebio.
“It is the opposite of fast fashion »
Creating a strong feeling of attachment with its customers, what could be more valuable for a brand? Offering an identity to a garment helps increase this proximity and contributes more generally to the brand’s storytelling. “This link that is created with the product and this particular attention to choosing a first name for it really contributes to the fashion story of the product. We have the impression that when we buy it, we will adopt it,” underlines stylist Emmanuelle Hyson. A new lexical field which is not without interest. Thus personified, clothing takes on additional value and is no longer considered a vulgar object. “It personalizes the garment and it gives it a bit of a soul in a way, it’s not just a piece of fabric,” recognizes the communications director of Make My Lemonade.
For Emmanuelle Hyson, this “encourages even more people to take care of their clothes” and it fits more broadly as “the opposite of fast fashion that people are fed up with.” “Here, each product has its place, we take the time to develop it, it has a first name,” she continues. She adds: “These are also clothes that are increasingly made to last. Making timeless clothes is the message of all these brands: to prolong their life and weave this emotional attachment. It is also a way of encouraging the customer to take care of her clothing, to keep it, to make it last, or even to pass it on. »
Gone are the days when we compulsively bought clothes that we piled up in our closets. From now on, we adopt a whole host of friends made of cotton, velvet or silk. “When you arrive on the site and see all these first names, you hardly have the impression, even if it’s a big word, of being in a family. You gain confidence more easily and you spot them better, estimates Simoné Eusebio. And since we also have the sewing aspect [Make My Lemonade propose à la vente les patrons de certaines pièces], they no longer even need to specify that it is a dress. Customers can say “I sewed myself a Natacha”. » A sentence not to be pronounced out of context, at the risk of spending a few years in the shadows.